October 28, 2013
Lauren Staehle
News Writer
POTUS
This past week was a hectic one for the president, as he commented on the controversial health care plan, and maintained his unwavering support for its goal of providing healthcare at a lower cost. He also met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister to discuss relations between the two countries, and ways to maintain the peace around issues like energy and trade. But amidst all the presidential activity, there was still time for parent-teacher conferences, and a little family time.
President Obama enjoyed a fairly quiet weekend, and played a Sunday game of golf at Ft. Belvoir with Sam Kass, Mike Brush and Marvin Nicholson. It was a nice return to the president’s usual weekend ritual, as he has been forced to work through the past couple weekends in light of the government shutdown.
Monday was back to business though, and President Obama gave remarks in the Rose Garden on the Affordable Care Act. Small business owners, new registrants, and other people who have benefited from the healthcare plan joined him on stage. President Obama took the opportunity to address some of the technical issues people are experiencing with the healthcare website. “The number of people who have visited the site has been overwhelming, which has aggravated some of these underlying problems,” he said. “Despite all that, thousands of people are signing up and saving money as we speak. Many Americans with a preexisting condition…are discovering that they can finally get health insurance like everybody else.”
The event took a slight turn when Karmel Allison, “a prospective ACA beneficiary,” according to the White House, fainted while on stage next to the president. The White House later released a description of Allison, explaining the health issues that caused the fainting episode. Those particular issues also make her a prime candidate for the Affordable Care Act. “Karmel Allison was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was nine years old,” a White House description read. “She has stayed on the same insurance ever since, despite constantly rising costs, for fear she would not be able to find a plan that would cover her due to her preexisting condition. Allison recently began researching her options on CoveredCA and has publicly described her experience as finally feeling equal to others, including her young and healthy husband, when it comes to access to coverage.”
The presidential duties were put on hold on Tuesday, as President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama traveled to Sidwell Friends School for parent-teacher conferences. Mr. and Mrs. Obama demonstrate that family responsibilities never seize to exist, no matter how busy their schedule gets. And like all parents, they are eager to meet with the wonderful teachers who educate their children.
On Wednesday afternoon, President Obama met with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the dynamics between Pakistan and the U.S. in relation to trade, energy and security. “I emphasized that the US considers Pakistan to be a very important strategic partner… We spent a lot of time talking about the economy,” the president said. “We’re going to be exploring ways to deepen the trade between both our countries.”
Prime Minister Sharif replied to the president: “Mr. President, I admire your statesmanship, your wisdom and your commitment to peace.”
On Thursday, President Obama traveled across town to the Jefferson Hotel for a reception benefiting the DNC. An official reported that around 30 supporters were in attendance, some donating up to $32,600.
President Obama traveled a little further on Friday, taking a trip to New York where he would visit a school in Brooklyn. The president arrived at Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) in the afternoon, and visited a math class first. The president joked that he has a hard time helping his own daughters with their math homework, and commented on his experience with math in school. “I liked math, but then it started to get harder. And so that can be frustrating,” the president said. He also joked that maybe one of the students at P-TECH should tutor Sasha and Malia, and a female student exclaimed, “Oh, I’ll do that!”
The president then gave remarks before the entire school. He began: “I want to thank your principal here at P-TECH, Rashid Davis, who I am pretty confident is the coolest looking principal in America. I mean, there just are not that many principals with dreadlocks and yellow kicks.” He then praised the work being done at P-TECH, saying that it was an exciting development in education. “This country should be doing everything in our power to give more kids the chance to go to schools just like this one,” President Obama said. “We should be doing everything we can to put college within the reach of more young people. We should be doing everything we can to keep your streets safe and protect you from gun violence. We should be doing everything we can to keep families from falling into poverty, and build more ladders of opportunity to help people who are willing to work hard, climb out of poverty. We should be doing everything we can to welcome new generations of hopeful, striving immigrants.”
After the speech, the president headed to Junior’s restaurant, where he would meet with NYC mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio. He, of course, ordered two of the restaurant’s famous cheesecakes first. “We’ll be eating it on Air Force One” he said. He also asked employees and patrons in the restaurant “Do you know your next mayor is here?” He greeted de Blasio and chatted briefly with him.
President Obama then left Brooklyn and headed for the first of two fundraisers. He arrived at the home of Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where attendees included Nancy and Paul Pelosi, Harvey Weinstein, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and Debra Lee. A dinner at the home of Karen Mehiel followed the reception. The president began his remarks by praising “our outstanding leader in the House,” Nancy Pelosi. He then addressed the recent government shutdown, saying: “We just went through an episode that expressed Washington’s dysfunctions in ways that we haven’t seen in quite some time. It was a symptom of a larger challenge that we have, and that’s that, too often, our politics become detached from the day-to-day lives of everyday people. And ideology ends up overcoming common sense. Folks are more determined to beat the other side than they are to actually deliver for the people who sent them there.”
Before heading home to Washington, President Obama stopped by the second fundraiser at the home of David and Beth Shaw near Central Park. Air Force One touched down in DC late that night, rounding out a busy week for the president.
